Brooklin street named in honour of war hero

Memory of Private Harvey Johnston cherished by family members

Harvey Johnston Way sign

Ryan Pfeiffer / Metroland

BROOKLIN -- Neill Johnston held onto a souvenir street sign during a ceremony dedicating a new street in Brooklin, Harvey Johnston Way. Private Harvey William Johnston moved to Ashburn when he was eight years old and lived on the 8th Concession, now known as Brawley Road, during his short life. He joined the army in 1943 and was killed two years later at the age of 21. November 12, 2012.

Brooklin street named in honour of war hero

Ryan Pfeiffer / Metroland

BROOKLIN -- Verna Lane, left, and Whitby Mayor Pat Perkins, right, removed a tarp from a street sign during a ceremony dedicating a new street in Brooklin, Harvey Johnston Way. Private Harvey William Johnston moved to Ashburn when he was eight years old and lived on the 8th Concession now known as Brawley Road during his short life. He joined the army in 1943 and was killed two years later at the age of 21. November 12, 2012.

BROOKLIN -- Days after Canadians paused to remember the men and women who sacrificed their lives for their country, the community is honouring one of its local war heros.

A road in Brooklin has been officially named Harvey Johnston Way as a tribute to Private Harvey William Johnston, an Ashburn resident who died in the Second World War.

"This is a real honour for me," said his sister, Verna Lane, fighting back tears as she stood underneath the sign at the official unveiling on Nov. 12.

Ms. Lane first approached the Town of Whitby with a request to have her brother's name commemorated seven years ago and was put on a waiting list until development picked up in the area.

When you went into the army, you brought your own

"I just kept plugging away and reminding them until one day, it just happened," she said.

Pte. Johnston was born in Oshawa on March 25, 1923 -- the second oldest of 11 children to Edith and Lewis Johnston. He moved to Ashburn when he was eight years old and lived on the 8th concession, now known as Brawley Road, attending Ashburn Public School and Brooklin Continuation School.

He joined the army on April 7, 1943 and was killed on Sept. 6, 1944 at just 21 years old.

His younger brother, Gordon Johnston, had followed in his footsteps by volunteering to go overseas. They sent each other letters back and forth until it was time for Gordon to join him.

"As soon as I got there, I was supposed to go to his regiment but he got killed before I got there," recalled Mr. Johnston, 88, of Ashburn.

Pte. Johnston is buried in Calais Canadian War Cemetery in France. His brother remembers seeing his grave on his way home in 1946.

"They never brought any of them home," he said. "When you went into the army, you brought your own blanket and that's what they buried you in."

Mayor Pat Perkins attended the unveiling and thanked the family for their persistent efforts to see Pte. Johnston honoured this way.

"Unless people put the names on the list, we can easily miss them so it's important for people to understand that if they have a family member that we haven't commemorated, we'd certainly like to know about it," she said.

"It's an honour for us to be able to do this."

Requests for street naming in honour of local veterans can be sent to the Town's planning department.